Raiden Mei was teaching Hua Yi Hokushin Itto-ryu through sparring. Or rather, she was instructing him in the art of the sword while simultaneously honing her own skills.
Hua Yi did not mirror the stances Raiden Mei used, nor did the girl specifically try to make him learn them. There were natural differences between men and women, and the "best" way to strike would always vary from person to person. Consequently, Hua Yi spent more time exploring his own path.
Raiden Mei's swordsmanship focused heavily on speed. Despite the name Hokushin Itto-ryu suggesting a single strike, her style involved continuous attacks on a single point to break through an entire surface a route quite suitable for a woman, whose average strength was lower than a man's.
After some thought, Hua Yi quickly abandoned the idea of mindlessly imitating her "point-to-surface" method. He possessed a Stigmata, and though he currently only had Selena (T) equipped, his future potential was incredibly high.
He would eventually possess more than enough strength, making it unnecessary to force himself into that specific style of attack. With a full-force strike, a Honkai Beast should be paralyzed instantly.
For now, Hua Yi was simply searching for the most perfect way to exert his power. Although he had made great strides in Raiden Mei's eyes, Hua Yi was not satisfied; he could feel that there was still plenty of room for improvement.
"Shall we continue practicing together tomorrow?"
Two hours later, Raiden Mei took several deep breaths to steady her ragged breathing. She tried to speak in a casual tone, but the hand hidden behind her back was trembling slightly. Facing Hua Yi, who possessed strength superior to her own, Mei found being his sparring partner to be anything but easy.
If nothing unexpected happened, Mei felt she would only be able to exert ninety percent of her strength tomorrow. There was no other reason for it she was simply too exhausted to fully recover in time.
Even though they had only sparred for a brief two hours, she felt as if those two hours had drained more of her energy and spirit than five hours of solitary practice. If not for the fact that her two practice bamboo swords were custom-made from her time as a wealthy young lady, ordinary ones would have been shattered long ago by the powerful collisions between them.
"No, this kind of practice requires gradual progress. It wouldn't be good to overstrain your body, especially since you have classes once the weekend is over. However, if it's alright, can I still come find you tomorrow just to chat?"
Despite the fact that he hadn't followed the principle of gradual progress at all this past week constantly pushing himself to the limit to force out his potential and despite the fact that the fatigue accumulated in his body from a lack of rest was far greater than Mei's, Hua Yi was the one telling her to rest well.
He performed so well that Raiden Mei was further convinced her previous suspicion that he was under immense pressure had been incorrect.
"Is that really okay? Chatting isn't a burden, but it takes more than ten minutes to walk from Tachikawa Academy to Chiba Academy, doesn't it? A round trip would take over half an hour. Won't it be a hassle?"
"As long as you don't find me annoying, Mei, it's no trouble at all."
Of course, the "chatting" wasn't because Hua Yi was looking for leisure, nor was his primary goal to increase Raiden Mei's affection level. He was mostly doing it for Friendship Points, aiming to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Raiden Mei certainly wouldn't find him annoying. In fact, after living such a lonely life for so long, every smile she showed while talking to him was genuine. He was someone she could talk to, someone who went out of his way to find her,
someone who practiced the sword with her. If it were possible, Mei even hoped he would transfer to Chiba Academy and become her classmate. That way, she would have someone to talk to during breaks, just like everyone else.
However, if an outstanding boy like Hua Yi entered her class, the other students would likely swarm around him. She wouldn't get many chances to speak with him at all. And if Hua Yi ignored the others to seek her out specifically, it might spark resentment among their classmates, leading to unpleasant situations.
Besides, transferring wasn't that simple and Chiba Academy was a girls' school.
A small, greedy thought flashed through Raiden Mei's mind before quickly vanishing under the weight of her rational considerations. Watching Hua Yi's receding figure, she hurriedly called out.
"Tomorrow, let's meet half an hour later than usual. Half past six, here. Is that okay?"
"No problem. If you have other things to attend to, Mei, I can stay away so I don't disturb you."
Although Friendship Points were vital, Hua Yi had no intention of being overbearing or letting his pursuit of them disrupt Raiden Mei's life. He would push himself to his own limits before the Third Honkai Impact, but he wouldn't force others to do the same.
"Huh? No, no, it's not that. I just wanted to make you a little... anyway, it's a promise. You'll come tomorrow, right?"
"Mhm."
Waving a hand to Mei as a farewell, Hua Yi walked to a corner of Chiba Academy. He took a deep breath and nimbly vaulted over the two-meter-high perimeter wall, landing on the ground outside the school. The moment he was completely out of Mei's line of sight, his breathing, which had only been slightly heavy, suddenly became rapid and ragged.
His hands were shaking. Almost from the moment he woke up today, he hadn't given his hands already sore from previous training a single moment of rest. From typing and organizing data during his internship at the company to sparring with Raiden Mei just now,
including everything he had done leading up to today, the heavy workload his hands had endured was enough to leave a permanent injury on an ordinary person.
Fortunately, Hua Yi possessed a Stigmata. Combined with his series of exercises, his physical fitness was far beyond that of a normal human. Right now, he was just incredibly tired. He hadn't reached the point of permanent damage, nor had he even reached his true limit.
The fact that Kiana had not appeared at Chiba Academy meant there was still some time before the Third Honkai Impact arrived.
For now, he could assume nothing unexpected would happen. Hua Yi didn't need to ensure his body was always in a perfect state to exert one hundred percent of his power; he only needed to keep working hard.
And so, after returning to the dormitory, he would continue his training.
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